REPRESENTING
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June 22, 2009

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INTRODUCTION
SUMMARY
SCOPE, OBJECTIVES, OBSERVATIONS AND METHODOLOGY 2
Scope 2
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FINDINGS 5
REVIEW TEAM 6
APPENDIX

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The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has completed a review of the budget certifications made by the Glades County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office to the Clerks of Court
Operations Corporation (CCOC), pursuant to Section 28.35(3)(b), Florida Statutes (F.S.).
The scope of our review focused on validating the processes and methodologies utilized in the development of the Clerk’s budgets for fiscal years 2006-2007 (FY 06-07),
2007-2008 (FY 07-08) and 2008-2009 (FY 08-09).
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has contracted with CCOC to establish a process for review and certification of court-related budgets submitted by the Clerks of Circuit Courts. The
CCOC is responsible for calculating the maximum authorized annual budget, identifying budgets exceeding the maximum expenditure amounts for a standard list of court-related functions and identifying budgets that have insufficient revenues to cover court-related expenditures, pursuant to Section 28.36, F.S.
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The FY 06-07, FY 07-08 and FY 08-09 approved budgets were $444,061, $534,605 and
$560,328, respectively.
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Glades County has a population of 11,055 and had 9.01, 10.65 and 10.65 Full Time
Employees (FTEs) budgeted to support court-related activities for FY 06-07, FY 07-08 and FY 08-09, respectively.
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Budgeted revenues and expenditures for FY 06-07 were $421,719 and $444,061, respectively, resulting in a budgeted deficit of $22,342. Actual revenues and expenditures for FY 06-07, which included payments to the Clerks of the Court Trust
Fund, detailed a surplus of $306,603. The Clerk remitted the FY 06-07 surplus to the
Department of Revenue (DOR) on January 31, 2008, for deposit in the General Revenue
Fund, pursuant to the provisions of Section 28.37(4), F.S.
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Budgeted revenues and expenditures for FY 07-08 were $568,974 and $534,605, respectively, resulting in a budgeted surplus of $34,369. Actual revenues and expenditures for FY 07-08, which included payments to the Clerks of the Court Trust
Fund, detailed a surplus of $71,747.
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Budgeted revenues and expenditures for FY 08-09 are $556,623 and $560,328, respectively, resulting in a $3,705 budgeted deficit. Monthly payments from the Clerks of the Court Trust Fund are scheduled to fund the Clerk’s projected deficit pursuant to
CCOC directive.
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The Clerk has an internal system and reporting procedures for measuring and reporting on all required performance standards.
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Scope
The Scope of our review included an analysis of the development of the Clerk’s
FY 06-07, FY 07-08 and FY 08-09 budgets. Our review was conducted on December 10-11,
2008, at the Glades County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office.
Objectives, Observations and Methodology
The budget review was conducted to ensure Clerk budget methodologies, performance measures, revenues and expenditures are accurately implemented and recorded according to law.
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Our review of the Clerk’s budgets verified the budgets were funded from fees, services charges, court costs and fines, pursuant to Sections 28.35, 28.36 and 28.37, F.S. Clerks must provide detailed information on expenditures necessary for the performance of court-related functions using the court-related codes in the Uniform Accounting System
Manual (UASM). The budget shall be submitted annually to CCOC for review and approval. The CCOC budget approval process focuses on the following key components: o Overhead Cost Allocation – The Glades County Clerk’s Office applied a 56.30 and 62.65 percent cost allocation rate to the FY 06-07 and FY 07-08 certified annual budgets. A 62.65 percent cost allocation rate is being utilized for the
FY 08-09 budget. o Our review of supporting documentation disclosed that the methodologies used to calculate and distribute overhead costs were reasonable. o Distribution of Court-Related FTEs – The Glades County Clerk’s Office budgeted
9.01 of 16.00, 10.65 of 17.00 and 10.65 of 17.00 FTEs for FY 06-07, FY 07-08 and FY 08-09, respectively, to support court-related functions.
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o General Fund Expenditures – The final approved budget for FY 06-07 was
$444,061 which included a budget reserve of $14,379. Major expenditure categories were: Personal Services ($364,892) and Operating Expenses ($64,790).
The final approved budget for FY 07-08 was $534,605 which included a budget reserve of $5,271. Major expenditure categories were: Personal Services
($474,422) and Operating Expenses ($54,912). The final approved budget for
FY 08-09 was $560,328 which included a budget reserve of $25,230. Major expenditure categories are: Personal Services ($478,005) and Operating Expenses
($57,093). o Revenue Forecasting – Budgeted revenues of $421,719, $568,974 and $556,623 were calculated for FY 06-07, FY 07-08 and FY 08-09, respectively, based on prior period data and management’s assessment of future operational activities. o Our review determined that the Clerk’s FY 06-07, FY 07-08 and FY 08-09 budgets were prepared pursuant to CCOC instructions and submitted in accordance with the provisions of Section 28.36, F.S.
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Our analysis of the Clerk’s expenditures during the review period confirmed the Clerk’s expenditures were limited to court-related functions as specified in Section 28.35(4)(a),
F.S.
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Our analysis of the Clerk’s revenues for fees, services charges, court costs and funding for court-related functions for FY 06-07 and FY 07-08 confirmed the Clerk’s revenues were assessed pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 28, F.S. The Clerk’s budget for FY
08-09 was based on projected revenues from the same sources, pursuant to Section 28.36,
F.S.
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Our review disclosed the Clerk maintains a partial fee payment system, pursuant to
Section 28.246, F.S. The Glades County Clerk’s Office is currently utilizing an internal database system to account for partial fee payments. The Clerk is contracting with an external collection agency to assist with collecting delinquent accounts that are 90 days past due.
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Glades County Clerk of Court was designated a “recipient” office for FY 06-07 by
CCOC based upon a budgeted deficit of $22,342. Monthly payments from the Clerks of the Court Trust Fund were scheduled to fund the Clerk’s projected deficit pursuant to
CCOC directive. The Clerk reported a FY 06-07 surplus of $306,603 based on actual revenues and expenditures of $770,441 and $463,838, respectively, which included payments to the Clerks of Court Trust Fund. The Clerk remitted the FY 06-07 surplus to
DOR on January 31, 2008, for deposit in the General Revenue Fund, pursuant to the provisions of Section 28.37(4), F.S.
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Glades County Clerk of Court was designated a “donor” office for FY 07-08 by CCOC based upon a budgeted surplus of $34,369. Monthly remittances to the Clerks of the
Court Trust Fund were scheduled to liquidate the Clerk’s projected surplus pursuant to
CCOC directive. The Clerk reported a FY 07-08 surplus of $71,747 based on actual revenues and expenditures of $545,753 and $474,006, respectively, which included payments to the Clerks of Court Trust Fund.
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Glades County Clerk of Court is designated a “recipient” office for FY 08-09 by CCOC based upon a budgeted deficit of $3,705. Projected revenues and expenditures for
FY 08-09 are $556,623 and $560,328, respectively. Through the time of our review
(based on report data through October 2008), the Clerk’s Office reported a FY 08-09 surplus of $18,598 based on revenues and expenditures of $40,907 and $22,309, respectively.
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The following performance measures were adopted by CCOC, pursuant to Section 28.35,
F.S., for FY 06-07 and FY 07-08: o Outputs – The outputs consist of the number of civil cases filed and the number of criminal defendants handled, by Court Divisions, as identified by the Clerk’s
Office. The Clerk reported 8,768 cases filed and 1,389 defendants during
FY 06-07. The Clerk reported 6,228 cases filed and 1,126 defendants during
FY 07-08. The Clerk reported 4,013 financial receipts for FY 07-08. o Outcome Measures – Timeliness and Collection Rate:
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Timeliness – New cases opened within a designated number of business days after the initial filing. The Clerk has the ability to collect data and report timeliness measures on new cases. The Clerk reported meeting or exceeding 18 of 20 performance standards to CCOC for FY 06-07. The
Clerk reported meeting or exceeding 20 of 20 performance standards to
CCOC for FY 07-08.
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Collection Rate – The collection rate is calculated by dividing collections by the adjusted assessments. The Clerk reported meeting or exceeding 9 of 9 collections performance standards to CCOC for FY 06-07. The Clerk reported meeting or exceeding 8 of 9 collections performance standards to
CCOC for FY 07-08. o Fiscal Management Measures – Fiscal Management Standards:
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Status Report – The Clerk reported meeting or exceeding 8 of 9 fiscal management standards to CCOC for FY 05-06. The Clerk reported meeting or exceeding 8 of 9 fiscal management standards to CCOC for
FY 06-07.
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o Jury Management Measures – Percentage of juror payments issued timely:
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Jurors Report – The Clerk reported 90 percent of juror payments issued timely to CCOC for FY 07-08.
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Finding Number 1:
Based upon our review, we found the Clerk’s budgeting practices and expenditure and revenue methodologies for State funds to be efficient and accurate. We concluded the Glades County
Clerk’s Office is currently able to report on all required performance standards. However,
Clerks are required to remit annual surplus funds to DOR for deposit in the General Revenue
Fund by January 1 st
following the end of the fiscal year, pursuant to Section 28.37(4), F. S. The
Glades County Clerk’s Office remitted the FY 06-07 surplus on January 31, 2008, which did not meet the required deadline.
Recommendation Number 1:
The Glades County Clerk’s Office should closely adhere to and follow all remittance requirements prescribed by Section 28.37(4), F. S.
Finding Number 2:
The Glades County Clerk’s Office did not meet the required performance standard for juror payments for FY 07-08. Clerks are required to issue juror payments within 20 days after completion of juror services, as provided in Section 40.32, F.S.
Recommendation Number 2:
The Glades County Clerk’s Office should closely adhere to Section 40.32, F.S. regarding timely payment for juror services.
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Burton Marshall, Chief, Bureau of Local Government
Priscilla Bailey-Brown, Financial Administrator
Mark Gressel , Professional Accountant Specialist
Angie Lawson, Professional Accountant Specialist
Jessica Robinson, Professional Accountant Specialist
Jeremy Smith, Professional Accountant Specialist
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Appendix A
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Appendix A (continued)
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Appendix B
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Appendix B (continued)
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